Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston will be the main talk of the 2015 NFL draft for better or worse. Now after seeing some of their preseason moves can we really argue which one is better or are both more similar than we thought?
Winston appeared to have more trouble but he is working with a worse offensive line that has been marred by injuries. Winston put up 9/19, 131 yards, and an interception however the Buccaneers did have him play for a longer period of time.
Coach Lovie Smith said that it was just a typical day for Winston but that cannot be true. Winston over and underthrew his receivers at times.
He was being pressured more than Mariota and that was the key difference. Blake Bortles in his rookie season through for 17 interceptions behind the worst offensive line in football, but I guarantee you those numbers change after some offensive line reshuffling.
Winston needs to get used to not being protected and making throws on the run, something he has not adjusted to at NFL speed. Plus he was facing one of the better defensive fronts in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings. But Winston does have better weapons, something he neglected to take better advantage of. Mariota looked solid going 7/8 for 94 yards a touchdown, and an interception.
Let us also not forget Mariota played a handful of snaps and was playing against the Falcon's second team defense. Either way by the end of preseason both rookies will have some solid stats to be analyzed, and their stats might only tell us something about their team not their potential.
